How Peggy Shepard helped spearhead environmental action in West Harlem How Peggy Shepard helped spearhead environmental action in West Harlem WE ACT for Environmental Justice / Courtesy of The three co-founders of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Peggy Shepard— the current executive director of WE ACT— is pictured on the left, the late Chuck Sutton is in the center, and Miller-Travis is on the right. By Maya Lameche | March 7, 2021, 11:12 PM In honor of Women’s History Month, Spectator is publishing a series on notable women of Columbia and the West Harlem community. Peggy Shepard, a longtime Black activist for environmental justice in West Harlem, co-founded the organization WE ACT for Environmental Justice and serves as its current executive director.